Effect of fiber on cholesterol metabolism in the Coturnix quail

This experiment involving 288 Coturnix quail was conducted to determine the effects of various fiber sources (alfalfa, wheat bran, dried brewer's grain, cellulose, and pectin) on serum, liver and egg yolk cholesterol, and egg production. The fiber sources were added at a rate to provide 6.25% fiber to a corn-soybean meal diet and fed for a 28-day experimental period. Serum, liver, and egg cholesterol levels were measured as pen composite samples at the end of the experimental period. No difference was exhibited in egg yolk cholesterol among any of the groups (P greater than .10). Liver and serum cholesterol levels were elevated in the birds fed the pectin and wheat brain diets as compared with that in birds fed the other fiber source; also, metabolizable energy intakes and eggs per hen day (EHD) were decreased for both groups. When data were adjusted for EHD by covariance analysis, the treatment differences no longer appeared (P greater than .05). These results indicate that 1) there is a basal quantity of cholesterol deposited in the egg on which fiber intake, energy consumed, or egg production have very little effect and that 2) there is an inverse relationship between serum and tissue cholesterol levels and the total quantity of cholesterol excreted via the egg.